Ao\'\3.»V 

ARABIA’S  CHALLENGE 
to  the  SEMINARY  MAN 


By 

REV.  H.  A.  BILKERT 


BOARD  OF  FOREIGN  MISSIONS 
REFORMED  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 
25  East  22nd  Street  New  York 


Arabia’s  Challenge  to  the  Seminary  Man 


FIE  marching  orders  to  the  Church  from  her 


Commander-in-Chief  are,  “Go  ye  into  all  the 


world  and  preach  the  Gospel!”  As  far  as 
Arabia  is  concerned  these  orders  are  still  largely 
unfulfilled.  The  occupation  of  seven  centers  by 
less  than  two  score  of  missionaries  can  in  no  sense 
be  construed  as  adequately  preaching  the  Gospel  to 
the  eight  millions  of  Arabs  who  constitute  the 
population  of  this  vast  peninsula.  These  vast 
unoccupied  stretches  of  country  and  the  multitudes 
of  unreached  peoples  constitute  a challenge  which 
should  come  with  peculiar  force  to  those  whose  life 
work  it  is  to  proclaim  the  salvation  of  Christ. 

The  blood  tingles  at  the  challenge  of  this  very 
faith  which  for  thirteen  centuries  has  withstood 
all  the  advances  of  Christianity.  Withstood?  Who 
can  forget  those  days  when  the  fate  of  Europe 
hung  in  the  balance  at  Tours  and  again  at  the 
gates  of  Vienna  when  the  surging  Moslem  hordes 
were  beaten  back  in  their  fanatic  zeal  to  overthrow 
the  power  of  Christianity  in  the  West,  as  it  had 
already  done  in  large  sections  of  the  East.  And 
who  can  forget  those  battles  which  drenched 
Palestine  in  blood  as  the  Cross  wrestled  with  the 
Crescent  for  the  guardianship  of  the  holy  places 
of  our  faith.  And  even  today  battles  no  less 
fierce,  if  less  bloody,  are  being  fought  for  the 
supremacy  of  the  Dark  Continent.  Or  nearer  home, 


suave  Moslem  teachers  of  the  new  school  come 
even  to  America  to  propagate  the  faith  of  the 
false  prophet  and  Detroit  and  Washington  know 
the  witness,  “There  is  no  God  but  Allah,  and 
Mohammed  is  his  prophet.”  There  is  a challenge 
in  a faith  so  virile  which  still  aggressively  denies 
the  faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints. 

There  is  a challenge  in  the  opportunities  of  the 
present  day  in  Arabia.  This  is  the  day  of  open 
doors  in  this  ancient  land.  Arabia  too  was  drawn 
into  the  meshes  of  the  great  world  war.  And  out 
of  that  war  has  come  a new  Arabia,  an  Arabia 
which  has  suddenly  awakened  from  the  deep  sleep 
of  the  seventh  century  to  the  broad  mid-day  of  the 
twentieth.  On  every  hand  there  is  a thirst  for 
western  knowledge.  Where  the  question  to  the 
newcomer  in  the  old  days  was  generally,  “Are  you 
a doctor?”  today  it  is  liable  to  be  “If  God  will,  you 
are  a teacher?”  Young  men  carry  English  primers 
in  their  pockets,  laboriously  spelling  out  new  words 
and  phrases.  One  hears  the  roll  of  drums  and 
down  the  street  come  the  schoolboys,  resplendent 
in  khaki  uniforms — the  Boy  Scouts  of  Arabia. 
There  may  not  be  much  of  the  real  Scout’s  self- 
reliance,  nor  do  they  understand,  perhaps,  all  the 
implications  of  the  Scouts’  oath,  but  none  the  less 
it  shows  what  they  are  seeking.  The  danger  of 
the  situation  is  that  they  will  adopt  the  shell  of 
western  learning  and  institutions  without  catching 
the  spirit  which  has  given  the  West  its  leadership. 
The  call  is  for  Christian  teachers  who  can  give  a 
Christian  emphasis  to  all  this  reaching  after  a 


larger  share  in  the  life  of  the  world.  Arabia  needs 
today  men  of  high  ideals  who  can  direct  into 
channels  of  lasting  good  these  impulses;  who  can 
give  standards  of  values  to  the  coming  generation 
which  will  mold  their  lives  after  the  pattern  of 
the  Master  Man.  Arabia  needs  ambassadors  of 
Christ  to  point  to  higher  things  than  the  passing, 
material  and  physical.  Open  doors  beckon  in  other 
directions  too.  More  and  more  the  great  province 
of  Nejd,  the  vast  interior  of  Arabia,  is  looking  to 
the  world  outside  its  desert  wastes.  At  present  her 
needs  do  not  go  beyond  the  healing  of  the  body 
which  modern  medicine  can  bring.  But  once  that 
wedge  has  entered  it  is  not  long  before  the 
evangelist  may  enter  too  for  the  healing  of  men’s 
souls.  The  whole  peninsula  is  open,  with  the 
exception  of  the  sacred  cities,  to  him  who  has  the 
courage  to  take  the  Word  of  God  in  his  hands  and 
go  out  to  preach  the  Word. 

There  is  too  the  challenge  to  strike  a blow  at 
the  very  heart  of  Islam.  Although  behind  many 
other  nations  in  learning  and  cultural  advancement, 
Arabia  is  still  the  cradle  of  Islam.  It  was  here 
that  the  faith  was  born,  it  was  here  that  the 
prophet  arose  and  taught  and  died,  it  was  from 
Arabia  that  there  poured  forth  those  first  triumph- 
ant hordes  who  planted  the  Crescent  in  every 
quarter  of  the  Orient  and  made  the  name  Moham- 
med sacred  to  millions.  And  it  is  still  toward 
Arabia  that  the  two  hundred  millions  of  faithful 
turn  their  faces  five  times  daily  as  they  pray.  Deep 
in  the  heart  of  every  Moslem,  wherever  he  may 


dwell,  is  the  wish,  the  prayer,  the  purpose  that 
he  may  one  day  set  foot  on  the  sacred  soil  of 
Arabia  and  tread  the  ground  his  prophet  trod. 
And  the  Moslem  of  Arabia  is  the  aristocrat  of  all 
believers.  Others  may  believe,  but  it  is  from  him 
they  learned  the  faith.  Others  may  boast  of  that 
faith,  but  it  is  in  his  land  that  it  had  its  source, 
and  he  is  sure  that  here  only,  in  Arabia,  is  the 
pure  religion  and  undefiled.  To  strike  a blow  for 
Christ  in  this  land,  then,  to  win  a convert  to  our 
King  from  the  midst  of  this  people,  is  to  awaken 
influences  which  will  have  consequences  further 
than  we  can  see.  Mohammed  prophesied  that  in 
all  Arabia  there  should  never  be  but  one  faith. 
Every  time  a group,  be  it  ever  so  small,  gathers 
to  call  on  the  name  of  the  Triune  God  they  give 
the  lie  to  his  prophecy.  And  yet,  he  spoke  better 
than  he  knew.  For  that  prophecy  will  one  day 
see  fulfillment,  albeit  that  single  faith  will  be  other 
than  the  one  of  which  he  prophesied. 

The  challenge  of  Arabia  is  still  the  challenge  of 
the  difficult.  Through  the  passing  years,  lives 
rich  in  power  and  unwavering  in  purpose  have 
been  poured  out  for  Arabia.  And  yet  the  Kingdom 
delays.  As,  the  anvil  wears  out  the  hammer  and 
is  itself  unshaken,  so  Islam  has  been  the  colossal 
anvil  upon  which  the  splendid  steel  of  many  a 
noble  life  has  been  worn  away.  And  it  may  be 
that  many  another  one  will  be  thrown  away  before 
the  anvil  itself  is  broken.  But  the  promise  is 
sure  that  Islam  too  shall  fail  and  crumble  into 
dust  before  the  glory  of  Jehovah  and  the  triumph 


of  Christ.  But  more  hammers  are  called  for,  more 
life  is  needed. 

Move  to  the  fore. 

Say  not  another  is  fitter  than  thou, 

Shame  to  thy  shrinking,  up,  face  thy  task  now. 

Own  thyself  equal  to  all  a soul  may. 

Cease  thy  evading,  God  needs  thee  today. 

Move  to  the  fore. 

Move  to  the  fore. 

God  Himself  waits  and  must  wait  till  thou  come; 

Men  are  God’s  prophets  though  ages  lie  dumb; 

Halts  the  Christ-kingdom  with  conquest  so  near? 

Thou  art  the  cause  then,  thou  soul  in  the  rear. 

Move  to  the  fore. 

There  is  urgency  too  in  the  present  opportunity. 
The  currents  and  cross-currents  of  political  strife 
and  chicanery  are  playing  across  this  land.  Forces 
are  contending  for  the  political  mastery  of  the 
country.  No  one  dare  predict  in  this  hour  what 
may  be  the  situation  tomorrow.  In  the  flux  of  the 
present  there  is  religious  freedom,  and  open  doors 
for  all  who  wish  to  enter.  But  it  is  not  certain 
that  these  doors  will  remain  open  when  the  policies 
of  the  government  are  determined.  The  policy  of 
the  closed  door  to  Christian  missions  may  be 
adopted,  as  it  has  been  adopted  by  governments  in 
Moslem  lands  ere  this.  But  until  that  occurs  the 
door  is  open  for  all  who  wish  to  enter,  and  once 
it  is  closed  those  who  have  entered  are  not  turned 
out.  All  the  more  urgency  then  to  seize  the  present 


opportunity  and  make  it  powerful  against  an  evil 
day. 

Nor  is  the  urgency  of  the  world  situation  to  be 
ignored.  The  East,  including  Arabia,  is  disillusioned. 
After  weary  years  of  war,  the  purposes  of  which 
they  but  remotely  understood,  they  heard  of  the 
wonderful  peace  which  was  to  usher  in  a new 
world.  The  Fourteen  Points,  the  privilege  of  self- 
determination,  the  rights  of  small  nations,  were 
words  to  conjure  with,  the  “Open  Sesame”  to  a 
new  era.  Years  have  passed.  Rumors  came  from 
Paris  that  the  Fourteen  Points  were  an  ideal  of 
fine  language  in  the  heat  of  conflict  but  hardly  the 
guiding  principles  of  astute  statesmen  at  the  peace 
table.  All  the  benefits  the  Arab  is  receiving — and 
they  are  many — do  not  compensate  in  his  eyes  for 
what  he  had  hoped  to  achieve.  But,  happily,  in  all 
his  discontent,  there  is  still  the  deepest  respect  and 
admiration  for  America.  He  still  looks  to  America 
as  the  champion  of  oppressed  peoples.  And  that 
too  spells  opportunity.  While  the  halo  of  romance 
is  still  upon  all  things  American  let  America’s  best 
come  out  and  prove  to  the  Arab  that  his  dreams 
are  not  mistaken  nor  his  high  esteem  unmerited. 
But  let  it  be  America’s  best,  America’s  faith  in 
Christ. 

More  powerful  than  the  political  urgency  is  the 
spiritual  urgency  of  the  hour.  Islam  is  changing. 
The  shock  of  the  war  is  felt  among  these  stern 
monotheists.  The  faith  of  the  seventh  century  is 
not  adequate  for  the  twentieth.  The  new  wine  is 
attractive  and  inevitable,  but  Islam  has  only  old 


■wine  skins.  These  old  skins  are  worn  and  thin 
and  the  alchemy  of  the  new  wine  is  tearing  them 
to  shreds.  Old  restraints  are  giving  way.  Under 
the  illusion  that  Islam  was  powerful  and  a world 
influence,  men  kept  the  requirements  of  the  faith. 
But  in  the  mighty  current  of  the  war  there  has 
come  disillusionment.  Islam  knows  itself  to  be 
weak  among  the  many  factors  of  world  importance. 
And  with  that  knowledge  the  old  is  passed  by  and 
external  things,  the  symbols  of  a conquering  power, 
are  adopted.  The  fast  month  comes  and  Arab 
officials  hedge  it  about  with  restrictions,  injunctions 
and  penalties  that  the  faithful  may  shrive  their 
souls.  But  the  faithful  have  but  little  concern  for 
their  souls  and  the  fast  is  openly  broken  and 
covertly  sneered  at.  A sheikh,  a leader  of  his 
people  and  a man  of  wide  influence,  boasts  of  his 
close  contact  through  the  years  of  the  war  with 
the  white  man.  And  what  has  he  learned?  He 
has  cultivated  a taste  for  the  white  man’s  liquors 
and  laughs  vacuously  as  he  chatters  the  drinking 
phrases  of  his  new  friend.  Mascat  boasts  of  its 
atheists’  club.  From  a blind  faith  the  pendulum 
swings  to  the  other  extreme.  “Is  there  a God? 
And  if  there  is  does  he  know  anything  about  me,” 
asks  the  new  Arab.  Atheism  and  agnosticism  creep 
in  and  challenge  us  to  give  the  Moslem  something 
vital  to  replace  the  faith  which  he  finds  inadequate. 

In  answer  to  this  challenge  of  Arabia  and  the 
urgency  of  the  opportunity  the  Church  has  sent 
nine  clergymen  to  this  land.  The  labors  of  the 
doctors  and  the  heroic  efforts  of  the  women  workers 


are  not  despised  nor  ignored.  But  this  land  of 
religion  demands  men  trained  in  religion.  To 
defend  the  divinity  of  Christ  to  a group  of  Moslems 
is  not  the  task  of  a novice.  The  attacks  upon  the 
integrity  of  God’s  Word  are  unsurpassed  in  fierce- 
ness and  subtlety  by  the  products  of  the  German 
Universities  in  the  past  two  decades.  From  a 
simplicity  in  presenting  the  message  that  the 
simplest  soul  may  grasp  it  to  a defense  of  the  truth 
against  the  philosophical  attacks  of  religious 
teachers,  Arabia  challenges  the  best  minds  our 
Seminaries  can  produce.  And  in  the  past  ten  years 
just  one  clergyman  has  come  to  swell  the  forces 
which  oppose  the  mighty , system  of  Mohammedan- 
ism. Is  there  no  vision  among  those  who  are  the 
leaders  in  the  Kingdom?  Is  there  no  appeal  to 
red-blooded  consecration  in  the  lure  of  the  difficult, 
in  the  challenge  of  a large  task?  “My  people  perish 
where  there  is  no  vision.”  Arabia’s  millions  perish 
because  in  the  homeland  the  vision  is  bedimmed, 
because  there  is  none  who  cries. 

It’s  great  to  be  out  where  the  fight  is  strong. 

Out  where  the  heaviest  troops  belong. 

And  to  fight  for  God  and  man. 

Arabia  lies  in  flux  now  and  he  who  comes  today 
may  have  a share  in  the  moulding  of  a new  people, 
in  the  rebirth  of  a nation.  Nay  rather,  in  the  birth 
of  an  Empire.  For  the  old  things  have  passed 
away  in  Arabia,  and  from  a sleeping  desert  she 
will  become  again  one  of  the  cross-roads  of  the 


world.  He  who  comes  today  captures  an  empire 
for  Christ. 

And  after  all,  the  real  challenge  of  Arabia  must 
lie  in  our  love  for  Him.  Have  we  really  learned 
to  know  His  love  for  us?  Have  we  entered  into 
the  fellowship  of  His  sufferings,  have  we  shared 
with  Him  in  the  work  of  redemption?  Has  our 
response  been  whole-hearted  love  and  whole-hearted 
consecration?  Then  we  will  know  the  challenge 
of  Arabia.  Then  Arabia — barren  in  its  faith  and 
hungry  for  love  calls  you  to  bring  to  her  the  knowl- 
edge of  Christ. 

The  strings  of  camels  come  in  single  file. 

Bearing  their  burdens  o’er  the  desert  sand; 

Swiftly  the  boats  go  plying  on  the  Nile, 

The  needs  of  men  are  met  on  every  hand. 

But  still  I wait 

The  messenger  of  God,  he  cometh  late. 

I see  a cloud  of  dust  rise  in  the  plain. 

The  measured  tread  of  troops  falls  on  my  ear, 

The  soldier  comes,  the  empire  to  maintain, 

Bringing  the  pomp  of  war.  the  reign  of  fear. 

But  still  I wait 

The  messenger  of  peace,  he  cometh  late. 

They  set  me  looking  o’er  the  desert  drear 

Where  broods  the  darkness  as  the  deepest  night. 

From  many  a mosque  there  comes  the  call  to  prayer; 

I hear  no  voice  that  calls  on  Christ  for  light. 

But  still  I wait 

The  messenger  of  Christ,  he  cometh  late. 


Amara,  Mesopotamia, 
January,  1922. 


